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Giants Now: ESPN's top 100 picks of 2023 draft

SCHMITZ-HYATT-GN

ESPN's Matt Miller ranks top 100 draft picks of 2023

The Giants' 2023 draft class continues to garner praise from the media.

ESPN's Matt Miller recently released his 100 best picks of the 2023 NFL Draft, using several different factors in his rankings.

As Miller states in the introduction, "To create our list of the best 100 picks, we factored in value (where a player was drafted vs. where he was ranked pre-draft), scheme fit, how the selection addressed a need and whether additional assets were gained or lost in draft-day trades to acquire the prospect."

Two of the Giants' first three picks found themselves towards the top of the list.

10. OL John Michael Schmitz (Round 2, Pick No. 57)

Miller's pre-draft rankings: No. 38

"It's hard to imagine a center in the top 10 best picks, but Schmitz will start from Day 1 and give the Giants a much-needed anchor in the middle of the line -- both in pass protection and as an interior boost to the run game. It also helps that Schmitz's mobility and toughness are perfect for Brian Daboll's offense."

The 6-foot-4, 310-pound lineman started at center for Minnesota the last three seasons. He was named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention following the 2020 campaign in which he started six of Minnesota's seven games.

Schmitz then started all 13 games in 2021 on his way to being selected Second-Team All-Big Ten by the conference's coaches. But the center was at his best this past season, as he started all 12 regular-season games and allowed just two sacks and eight total pressures on 302 pass block snaps before being named First-Team All-American and First-Team All-Big Ten.

15. WR Jalin Hyatt (Round 3, Pick No. 73)

Miller's pre-draft rankings: No. 26

"The Giants' offensive system is a mixture of Buffalo and Kansas City, and both Daboll and offensive coordinator Mike Kafka have had success with smaller, speedy receivers. Hyatt can become the Giants' go-to target early in his career with his vertical stretch ability and the tools to become a much better route runner once exposed to more concepts and coaching. And New York got great value here."

Hyatt erupted in 2022 as he put together the best receiving season in Tennessee history. The 6-foot, 185-pound receiver pulled in 67 passes for 1,267 yards and a school-record 15 touchdowns in 12 games, including a program-record five scores in one contest (vs. Alabama on 10/15). He finished the season with averages of 18.9 yards per reception and 105.6 yards per game.

The explosive receiver became the first player in school history to win the Biletnikoff Award, presented each year to the nation's most outstanding wide receiver. He also became the first wide receiver in Tennessee history to be named First-Team All-American and the first Volunteer to achieve the feat since Eric Berry in 2009. He was also named First-Team All-SEC as he led the conference in receiving yards, touchdowns, receptions per game (5.6) and receiving yards per game.

View photos of the New York Giants' seven-member draft class.

View photos of the Giants on the practice field as OTAs are about to begin.

View rare photos of the historic rivalry between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.